North Korea also warned about a possible showdown if the U.S. and South Korea conduct joint military exercises

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In this May 10, 2016, photo, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a parade from a balcony at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang.

North Korea said Washington has declared war by putting leader Kim Jong Un on its list of sanctioned individuals, according to a diplomat who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, NBC News reported.

Although the country has been sanctioned internationally for its nuclear weapons and long-range missile development programs, Washington announced for the first time that Kim was personally sanctioned on July 6.

Pyongyang cut off its official means of communication with Washington, saying it was the final straw. Director-general of the U.S. affairs department at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, Han Song Ryol, said everything between the two must now be death with under “war law.”

Han also warned about a possible showdown if the U.S. and South Korea conduct joint military exercises next month. The two countries regularly conduct exercises, and Pyongyang usually responds with tough talk and threats of retaliation.

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